Discord's Nuzlocke Challenge
by Silvremist
Summary: Discord finds himself bored one afternoon in Ponyville, and has a marvelous idea on how to pass the time. He decides to take some ponies from Equestria, as well as a few characters from other worlds entirely and bring them together for a challenge that they wont soon forget. New friendships will be forged and new love interests will be discovered in the world of Pokemon.
1. Prologue

\- Ponyville, Equestria -

It was another beautiful and sunny day in Ponyville. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends stood in the meadow with Discord.

"So… is there some reason you asked us all to meet you here?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked!" Discord trilled merrily. "You see, my friends, we are all friends now aren't we! Well, I had the most wonderful idea! I thought I might perform some of my magic on your behalf. Make your day a little interesting, what do you say?"

Pinkie bounced up and down, "oooh! Ooooh! Will it be FUN?"

"Oh, yes! Loads of fun!" Discord promised with a smile.

Rarity and Applejack exchanged dubious glances.

"How much trouble is it gonna cause to Equestria?" Applejack demanded.

"And how much cleaning up afterwards will we have to do?" Rarity added.

Discord lifted up his eagle's claw and put his lion's paw over his heart, "Why none at all, my dears! None at all! I promise!"

"Um… um… " Fluttershy hesitated, "will it be… scary?"

Discord glanced at her and looked thoughtful, "Well… it might be just a teensy bit, but if that bothers you, I can leave you out of it."

Twilight blinked, "Fluttershy, you know you don't need to be afraid of anything with us around, right?"

"YEAH! You just gotta chortle at the creepy… remember?" Pinkie Pie declared, bouncing merrily around her friend.

"Oh… yes…" Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie, then shyly glanced over to Discord. "Nevermind... I will go."

"Well, alright then, shall we begin?" Discord smiled, and with a snap of his fingers, the seven of them vanished from the face of Equestria.

Seconds later, they reappeared floating in space overlooking a different world. But they weren't alone. A large crowd of people had gathered from out of nowhere, and all of them looked startled and confused at the sudden change of scenery (some of them in mid action).

Discord enlarged so that he could be seen and heard by all of the gathered peoples.

"Ok, so, here's the deal," He grinned maniacally "I have pulled you seven, along with several people from other worlds out to this, completely separate world, to have some fun!"

Twilight blinked, and upon taking in her surroundings, spotted Sunset Shimmer standing around looking rather perplexed at both her new surroundings and the six other ponies.

Sunset Shimmer had been alone in the school's music room, practicing on the guitar, when all of the sudden a strange power dragged her from Canterlot High into an alternate dimension. She stared in surprise at all her friends… well, all of her friends as they would have looked if they were ponies… (except for Twilight, whom she had met as a human, but had known also as a pony, briefly) and recognized Discord as he floated there explaining what was going on thanks to her studies long ago.

"I'm going to split you all up into groups of six and send you down to that world below." Discord continued, now for the benefit of all gathered, "Your job is to attempt to make your way through the maze provided for you thanks to the nice people who live on that world below. If you make it to the end of your journey, to me, then I will send you home. With any luck, you'll all get to make some new friends along the way! Doesn't that sound exciting?"

"Wait… what?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, and for the benefit of the majority… you ponies… and any other critters here in the crowd… shall be turned into human-shape. Ok now, have fun!" Discord snapped his fingers before anyone could protest, and all of them vanished to the world below.

Discord laughed to no one, "Let's see how this plays out".

Hades sat in his underground lair, quite bored until a horde of dead souls came knocking on his doorstep. If something exciting was going on causing so many people to die in the human world, Hades just HAD to know where the epicenter of it was. He decided to see The Fates.

"Dear, dear," the Fates cackled merrily as the god of the underworld walked in. "Some grave twist of fortune and despair is occurring. So much madness... strings being pulled from the left and the right, bending around one another. Some god of great power, changing oh so much." They danced with glee over their precious looms and spindles of thread.

"Hey there ladies, what's going on?" Hades looked around the room curious about the answer to his question. He slid up to their viewing screen and observed Discord as the god of Chaos wreaked his havoc and laughed. "Now there's a guy who really knows how to shake things up!" Hades exclaimed, grinning widely. "Where is this guy... I aught to shake his hand!"

One of the Fates shows Hades an image of a location where a massive gathering was taking place. "Ah ha!" He declared, poofing himself to the outskirts of the gathering at the tail end of Discord's speech. Then he saw the crowd disappear.

"Pardon me, but I couldn't help noticing this little set-up you've got going here and I just thought I'd add in my two cents. The name's Hades, pleasure to meet ya." He flicked his hands out and pointed his index fingers at Discord in a friendly manner. "Anyway, what's-your-name, it seems you only had heroes in that crowd."

Discord turned from his musings to blink in surprise at observing the god of the underworld in his presence. He looked thoughtful at Hades' observation. "Discord… and your point is?"

"Well, how could a maze be any fun for heroes unless they have a set of roadblocks, am I right? Some good opposition to keep them on their toes, and maybe squash a few of them in the process..." Hades paused and laughed, "I mean, try to squish them... anyways, I personally would just absolutely love to name myself chief of the villain squad, so here's a list of folks that I think would really add some spice to your little game." Hades takes a piece of parchment from out of nowhere and starts listing names on a piece of paper.

The list reads: - with Hades' commentary

Azula - she seems like a total badass,

The Changelings - no one does espionage like a creature that can turn into you and your friends~,

Daleks - 'cause I can appreciate mass destruction,

Demyx - he's kind of a wuss… maybe being taken away from that gang of his will do him some good,

Doofenshmirtz - because every villain needs a chance to get it right,

Lust - soooo sexy…,

Maleficent - Doesn't Fire Breathing Dragon mean anything to you?,

Nightmare Moon - poor thing, no one appreciates her and she gets defeated before her beautiful plan can go into effect,

Ozai - he was soooo close to winning, I bet without those kids to stop him he will have no trouble this time,

Rumpelstiltskin - Good at negotiation, and keeping secrets!,

The Siren's - I love a good musical group that compels people to KILL each other,

Tom Marvolo Riddle - is a man after my own black heart,

Ursula - I have a special fondness for creatures with tentacles!,

After giving the god the list, Hades says "I trust you can find them. Oh, and why don't you throw in a few of the locals… I've heard some good things about the ones they call 'legendary', feel free to pick whichever ones you like." and then he vanishes.


	2. Chapter 1

Pallet Town was a tiny little residential town whose only interesting structure was a sprawling mansion in the southern half of the town that had been renovated into a laboratory for the exclusive use of the study of the unique creatures that could be found in the surrounding region. The town was otherwise quaint and small, with a couple of houses tucked into the surrounding forest and a single park for the children to play in. The only exits seemed to be a river slinking towards the south, and an overgrown path to the north.

It was here that six figures manifested, and with their entrance, the subtle vibrations of the spread of chaotic magics dissipated, changing and rearranging things that were not currently obvious.

The six consisted of a bunch of teenagers, all of which were from vastly different worlds than one another.

There was: Syaoran Li, a 14 year old with short chocolate brown hair and eyes. He wore a forest green chinese style shirt, blue jeans, and a comfortable pair of black sneakers;

Toph Beifong, a 14 year old with medium length black hair that was pulled up into a large bun that she kept in place with a green and yellow hair band that had little white fluffy ties at the end of it which rested beside each of her ears. Her eyes were green, but faded because of her blindness. She wore a tan colored tunic with a green shirt and shorts underneath. A studded belt around her middle completed her ensemble, as she was barefoot;

Edward Elric, a short 16 year old with long blond hair he kept back in a ponytail. His eyes were a striking gold in color. He wore a long sleeved black collared shirt and slacks, along with sturdy black boots. Over this he wore a bright red hooded coat with a strange symbol on the back that looked somewhat like a question mark with wings and a cross in the center. His right arm and left leg were made of automail;

Applejack, who appeared in human form as a 16 year old with long straw colored hair that she had up in loose ponytail and green eyes. She wore a green and white collared shirt as well as a pair of blue jeans held up by a belt with a red apple-shaped clip and tall brown boots that displayed three red apples upon them prominently as well as her signature cowboy hat perched on the top of her head;/p

Sinon, a 17 year old with short light blue hair and bright sky blue eyes. She wielded a long sniper rifle called the Hecate 2, which was her greatest treasure. Under her hair was a long white scarf with a black line going through the middle. She wore a thin getup that was maximized for movement. Long green white sleeves. Black covering some of the chest and underneath a white shirt with three black lines going down the front one in the middle and two on either side which showed the cut of her shirt revealing her skin around the sides above the waist. She wore a pair of black cutoffs. Completing the ensemble were green stockings that revealed her thighs in the front and black shoes;

and lastly Hermione Granger, a 15 year old with barely manageable thick and wavy chestnut colored hair and brown eyes. She had perfect white teeth. She wore her usual Hogwarts robes, which were black, a white dress shirt and a gold and burgundy striped tie, black stockings and shoes. She wielded a wand that was ten and a quarter inches.

The six looked around at one another, and their new location with varying emotions.

Syaoran decided to whip out a strange board that looked vaguely like a chinese checker board and sit himself on the ground, closing his eyes as though to meditate. Toph spent a few moments 'looking' at their surroundings and then at her new 'friends' (as the disembodied voice she had heard had described them).

"I'm Toph, if anyone cares." She said offhandedly, not really speaking to anyone in particular, but feeling like introducing herself was the right thing to do.

Applejack was as eager as ever to make a few new friends, "Howdy y'all. My name's Applejack, good to meet'cha." She introduced.

Sinon saw that people were introducing themselves and added herself into the mix. "My name is Sinon, does anyone have any idea where we are?" she asked.

Hermione looked puzzled as she studied her surroundings, "My name is Hermione Granger… and I've never read about any place like this before, sorry that I can't be more helpful."

Edward mumbled to himself a moment or two about someone named 'Al' before he suddenly realized this person was not in their midst, then his face grew dark and he clenched his fist towards the sky. "ALRIGHT! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY BROTHER!" He shouted furiously. When he got no answer, he continued, "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME DARNIT! ANSWER ME!"

Everyone stared at Edward's outburst. Syaoran glowered at him, "If it's all the same to you, I want to get back home as soon as possible. So if you'd shut up for a second and let me meditate, I might be able to answer some of your questions." He looked around at the others who had introduced themselves and nodded his head towards them, "Li, Syaoran." He offered formally, last name first, then sighed as he tried once again to focus.  
Toph and the others seemed to completely ignore Syaoran's request for silence however, as they all gathered around Edward and tried to empathize with his fury.

Toph frowned. "Look, I don't know you and you don't know me… but I'm thinking that whoever sent us here doesn't particularly care about your feelings, so you might as well get over it and start trying to come up with a plan to get back home, like the rest of us are."

Applejack nodded, "Besides, Discord said he wanted us to have fun didn't he? We might as well try. What say we put our heads together and figure our way through this 'maze' o' his?"

Hermione and Sinon nodded their agreement with Applejack's plan and Edward found that he couldn't help agreeing with them as well. He decided that he would deal with the strange chimera that had separated him and his brother in due time, but other things took precedent at the moment.

Syaoran gives up trying to meditate and instead lends his ears to the conversation. "Hmm… well, we should probably start with sharing what each of our abilities are before we go wandering off, so that we know who to ask to do what when scenarios call for it." He suggests, then pulls out the Five Force sword and stands to take a fighting stance. "I am a master of Chinese fighting styles, as well as an adept swordsman and have the ability to call the elements to my aid on occasion. My magic is limited, but I can occasionally focus the spiritual energies within myself upon this board" he holds up the board "to figure out which way destiny is leading me."

Toph got into the spirit of Syaoran's suggestion, "You're a fighter huh? Cool, me too. You say you can summon the elements, does that mean you're the Avatar where you're from?" She asks idly. "Me, I'm the most awesome Earthbender who ever lived!" she brags. "I invented Metal Bending, after all - which hadn't been done before I figured it out!"

Syaoran gave Toph a curious look. This blind girl was a fighter? Well, he supposed he shouldn't go around judging people he'd never met. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what an 'Avatar' even is. There are no such things where I'm from."  
"Oh." Toph replies, frowning thoughtfully.

"I'm an Alchemist" Edward adds. "I'm not too bad in the fighting department either." He furrowed his brow a bit,

"Your… abilities don't sound like alchemy. I've never heard of 'magic' before." He noted with a bit of confusion."Certainly, the ability to call on elements and things like that… sounds like it completely ignores the principles of equivalent exchange." He narrowed his eyes at them. "You aren't using any Philosopher's stones… are you?"

Both Syaoran and Toph shook their heads. "I'm afraid I've never heard of the stones you mentioned." Syaoran shrugged. "Me neither." Toph agreed.

Edward didn't know if he was willing to just suspend his world view regarding the principles of equivalent exchange when it came to something as impossible as people from other worlds.

Applejack looked thoughtful, "Well, I've heard of magic, we have it in Equestria. As for me, I'm pretty strong, and I'm good in a fight when necessary."

Sinon was interested in the conversation… it sounded to her like all of these people had come with all of their abilities and stats intact from whatever games they had been in, like herself. "I'm a Sniper and a strategist." she offered to the group, hefting her Hecate 2. "This baby and me can hit just about anything at almost any distance."

Hermione stood observing the conversation, listening intently to the strange assortment of terms she was hearing. She heard a few she was familiar with, Magic, of course, Syaoran was clearly a Wizard like herself… though he also said he was capable in physical combat, which made her wonder why he would bother if he lived in a magical world. Toph she was uncertain about, she would just have to see this 'Earthbending' in action to have any idea what it was. Edward's 'Alchemy' sounded science-oriented and so she wasn't sure if he was a wizard with a mastery over Potions, Transfiguration… etc, or a muggle. Applejack was obviously a muggle as was Sinon, as neither of them mentioned having any kind of magical affinity whatsoever. Her ears perked up when Edward mentioned the Philosopher's Stone, and her vast stores of knowledge kicked in, "I'm absolutely sure they aren't using THE Philosophers Stone. The only one was destroyed four years ago." she states matter-of-factly. "As for my abilities, I'm a witch on the top of my class in the fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am excellent in various magical disciplines including potions, herbology, transfiguration, defense against the dark arts, and levitation. I also pride myself in my knowledge of magical history, muggles and mythical creatures."

Most of the others look at one another as they consider the strange assortment of words and ideas that had come from each individual. Clearly this was going to be a bit more complicated than Syaoran had first realized when he suggested the idea. He had assumed that the other worlds the others had come from would at least be somewhat similar to his own. It looked as though they would have to actually see each other's abilities in action before any sort of tactical strategy could be planned out.

Meanwhile, Hermione's comment about the Philosopher's Stone being destroyed gets instantly under Edward's skin, and he flares up against the impossible idea that such a thing could be possible, "Destroyed?! According to legend, lady, a real philosopher's stone can't be destroyed. Though I've seen plenty fake ones break into pieces after their use ability ended." He countered in annoyance.

The others blinked in surprise at his outburst and watched in confusion as Hermione countered, "Well I'm sorry to tell you this, then, but I'm positive there was only ever one Philosopher's Stone created by the now passed alchemist, Nicolas Flamel, Dumbledore wouldn't have let a item that grants near immortality to its user just lie around waiting for some muggle to come discover it. No, there absolutely wouldn't be another one on the whole planet, its impossible. And it didn't just break. The most powerful Wizard I have ever met personally destroyed it."

Applejack sweat dropped and tried valiantly to make an observation in the hopes to end the argument, "Hey y'all, I think it's possible that the Philosopher's stone Hermione is talking about here might be a different one than the ones you are referring to Edward! Didn't 'cha think it was odd that most of these folks were sayin' things you didn't understand? I bet that's what Discord meant when he said we were from different worlds. Each of us is from completely separate places, so your two stories of the stone are probably about completely different stones."

Sinon blanched as she realized the implications from what Applejack was saying. "Wait are you saying I'm not in Japan anymore? I can't just log out and wake up in my room? What?" She exclaimed as she tried to access the log out menu for the first time since this whole thing started. Nothing happens. 'How did that thing teleport me to another real place so that I look just like my character on GGO?' Sinon looks like she is examining her outfit. "What exactly do you mean by they could be from different places, and if I'm not in my room where the heck am I?"  
The other three who weren't arguing about the Philosopher's stone shrugged helplessly to her questions. Applejack suggesting that perhaps Sinon could ask Discord her questions after they'd gotten through his maze. Sinon decided that this was probably the best course of action.

Edward considered Applejack's words. Two separate worlds where the Philosopher's stone existed? Was it possible for their worlds to share that one random legend, but nothing else? Hermione's high-and-mighty tone cut through his moment of thought and his blood boiled. "Now wait just just a minute! I've been searching and studying that damn stone for practically my whole life. I've never even heard of this Nicholas Flamel, but I have actually come across people in my world, going around passing themselves off as miracle workers with fake stones that turn to dust just when I think I might have finally found it. So don't go telling me that your wizard friend destroyed the only one because that can't be true! I'm going to find the real one and get back my brother's body." He finished with an impassioned fire in his eyes.

The two of them continued to argue with no end in sight while the other four just shook their heads. Meanwhile a woman with vibrant red hair tied back in a ponytail toddled towards the haphazard group with a creature walking along side her that looked somewhat like an oversized clown doll. She approached completely unaware of any of the conversation being had. "Alright are you ready to go visit Professor Oak Mr. Mime?" Coming from the over sized doll was a high pitched voice saying "Mime Mimeee, Mimeee Mimeee mime." She almost walked right past the argument without saying anything. Only Mr. Mime's addled sound of worry stopped Delia from running into Syaoran.

"Oh you must be lost trainers looking for the lab. Oh, I remember when Red first left on his Pokemon Journey. Well come along then, follow me!"

Applejack, glad for the distraction, runs up and shakes the woman and her mime's hand. "Well how do you do!" She shakes their hands and treats Mr. Mime like she would anypony. She grips Delia's attention by shaking her hand so suddenly. "I'm Applejack, and this here is Li, Toph, Edward, Sinon, and Hermione!"

Taking a second look, Delia sees that this group of people are far too old to be new trainers. She looks like she completely enjoyed Applejacks enthusiasm, even though nobody she ever met had shaken her Mr. Mime's hand before. She thought Applejack was quite an interesting young lady, and smiled with her amusement. "Oh I'm sorry, we get so many new trainers around here every month or so, I mistook you all for them! Sorry to have bothered you!

Applejack waved to the others urgently, "Come on, let's follow her!" And hastily trailed after the woman. "Oh, not at all, say why don't we go with ya anyways!" Most of the others followed suit.

Hermione at this point, simply assumed she'd won the argument and agreeably trailed after Applejack and the others as they all began to follow Delia wherever it was she was going. Meeting up with a Professor sounded much more interesting than going around in circles arguing with Edward about whether or not the stone had been destroyed… which it had.

Toph had had just about enough of the ridiculous argument that was being held between Ms Nerd and Mr High and Mighty. She had seen Delia and her strange pet amble towards them before she had even spoken, and might have even said something if she thought Abbot and Costello were going to be done with their act anytime soon. Still, as relieved as she was that everyone seemed to have decided that following her was the best approach, she could sense another hot headed outburst about to explode from Edward and decided to that drastic measures would be needed to shut him up. She slid her feet across the ground to steady her stance, feeling the vibrations between herself and Edward. She "saw" the metal of his arm, focused... and then pulled her arm forward as she grabbed ahold of the refined pieces of Earth within. Toph smiled to herself as she clenched her fist and started dragging him along hand-first through the dirt. "Come on Hot Head, no one here has time for you and Smarty Skirt over there to stand around arguing all day."

"What in the-?!" Edward exclaimed as his arm suddenly seemed to grow a mind of its own and jolted forward to drag him through the dirt. "Hey! What gives?!" He demanded in between breaths of spitting out dirt.  
The six followed the strange women across the town. They passed a few buildings that were generally small in size that comprised the residents of Pallet Town. There was a large hill leading to the Professor's Laboratory. There at the top of the hill was a rather large building and after walking up to it everybody went inside.

Delia stopped once the group was inside. "Please leave your Weapons over here" instructing them to put them near where someone might put a coat, "The Pokemon might get scared and run away! The Pokemon at the lab are treated very well so you don't have to worry about them attacking or anything like that."

Syaoran looked thoughtful at the request, he didn't want to offend the helpful woman, but he didn't part with his family's heirloom quite that easily. Instead, he transforms it into its harmless state as a bit of ornate thread and pockets it. "Will that be sufficient?" He asks politely.  
Delia was impressed with this magic trick, 'was that really a weapon?' she thought as it suddenly turned to thread.

"Yes, that will be fine." Not exactly sure how to put what she was thinking into words she watched a girl put her gun down and another put a wooden stick away in her cloak's pocket. Delia beckoned the group of travelers to follow her.

An assistant came up to her and said, "Hi Delia, are you looking for the Professor?"

"Why yes" she said airily, "We have a lunch date today!"

"Good then, He went out back to tend to the Pokemon, so let me call for him." The assistant trails off to the back of the lab and goes off outside. In a few moments the assistant comes back and has with him an elderly man with a white lab coat on, a genuinely kind face, and white hair.

"Well, well it seems as though we have some unexpected visitors today." Professor Oak chuckles heartily. "Well, would you folks care to join us for lunch? I'm afraid I am truly starving!"

The group looked at one another and shrugged.

"The lady mentioned something about a 'pokemon journey'?" Syaoran asked politely. "If you don't mind, um… Professor, could you explain that a bit more?"

"Lunch sounds great, I'm starving!" Toph added with a wide smile.

Edward stood wiggling his arm for a bit, still trying to figure out what had just happened. He'd never known his body parts to just randomly start dragging him through the dirt, and hadn't put the pieces together that the blind girl who had called him a 'hot head' was the one responsible for the mutiny. He clenched his fist and tested his elbow and shoulder… they seemed to be working just fine. He looked at the black-haired Earthbender and wondered if somehow this was what she had meant when she said she could bend metal.

Applejack responded by saying "Dandy, I sure am craving an apple right about now"

Sinon wanted to be polite to the complete stranger, after all he was offering food, but couldn't ignore the sense in

Syaoran's question. "I'm curious too Syaoran, but shouldn't we ask him after he's had something to eat?"

Hermione was most definitely the person most looking forward to meeting a Professor in this world, She had taken her quill out and a pad of paper emerged from nowhere while nobody in particular was paying attention to take notes on whatever the Professor planned to teach. "Oh, yes! I would love to eat with you Professor! And then I would love to learn of your studies or perhaps take a look at the books you have written or otherwise collected."

Professor Oak was curious to see why two teenagers were asking him what a Pokemon Journey was. He was flattered to hear that one of the girls in the group was a fan of his work, and her questions made her sound like an apprentice of another professor. Noticing a lack of pokeballs at their waists he'd thought it best to get the first question out of the way before eating. "Oh my, have none of you ever trained a Pokemon before?"  
The group stood looking at the professor like he was speaking a different language and shook their heads at the professor.

Professor Oak exuded a new energy when he realized he was talking to new trainers. "Oh, then we absolutely must take care of that first." Beckoning them to follow he said to himself, "Hmm the six of you traveling together huh, we'll just have to find some extras. "

The group found them staring at a strange machine which held three red and white balls. Professor Oak told them to wait just a minute. When he came back, there were three more in his hands. He set them in empty slots in the machine.

"Normally I only keep Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander on hand for trainers, but since there are six of you, I brought out a few more that are suitable to beginning trainers; Pidgey, Eevee and Pikachu. Go ahead pick the one that's best for you." After noticing the group staring at him blankly he handed them a red device that had just the six pokemon registered. "Just say the name to get detailed pokedex information on them."

Syaoran gave the balls a raised eyebrow as he turned the red device he was handed over in his hands. "Is this… really necessary?" He asked, thoroughly confused.

Edward examined the red device and opened it. Within he found a keyboard and a screen. Curious, he tried typing in the word 'pokemon' on the keyboard.

The device in Edward's hands changes from a blank screen and a picture of a Nidorino appears then a computerized voice starts speaking loudly enough so the whole room can hear it. "This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokemon. to some people Pokemon are Pets. Others use them for fights."

Some members of the group spazz out as the small red object speaks out loud. Syaoran immediately goes into a defensive position, hands at the ready to defend himself as he had put his sword away earlier. Toph merely tilts her head curiously in Edward's direction… she had not yet put together the concept in her brain that the little piece of metal he was holding had made the sound that she had heard (she figures someone else must have spoken), she contemplates the idea of a world of creatures that people use to fight with. Applejack and Hermione (who had thought she was in a land of muggles) seemed to be surprised but calmed quickly, While Sinon, who was accustomed to futuristic technology, was more curious about what the device was saying and was left completely oblivious as to why anybody might use a creature to fight, it seemed so... cowardly.  
Edward drops the thing like it was on fire and jumps away from it, the pokedex clattering to the floor. "What in the hell was that?" He yelps.

Professor Oak seems to be utterly confused by the young man dropping the Pokedex. "Please don't drop that Pokedex again! It's fragile." He picks it up off the ground.  
"Well, this is a comprehensive Pokemon Encyclopedia, each one is individualized to give trainers valuable information on Pokemon each trainer encounters on their Pokemon Journey. I'm honestly surprised that you managed to get here considering none of you have pokemon! How did you manage? Are you maybe from the Orange Archipelago?"

Toph turns to Professor Oak first, "It's kind of a long story… but no." She replies, offering a shrug. "So, you're saying we need one of these 'pokemon' to go anywhere around here?"  
Professor Oak responds, "Well, in the wild, Pokemon may jump out at you and attack, which is why we arm trainers with pokemon of their own. It's not safe otherwise. Trainers usually use this as an opportunity to explore the world they live in and even take each other on in battles to see who is stronger. We have an entire system based on this, which we call the Pokemon League, there are eight gym leaders which you can battle if you are so inclined to earn their badges, which when collected will allow you to take on the Elite Four and proclaim yourself a Pokemon Master. "  
The group, most of them calming down now enough to pay attention, most of them look at each other with raised eyebrows at this revelation.

Applejack brightens, "Well that sure sounds like what Discord was talkin' about! You guys up for taking on these Elite Four folks?"

The group considers her words.

Syaoran and Edward share similar grins on their faces as they both nod enthusiastically."Sure, bring it on." "Those 'Elite' people aren't going to know what hit them!"

"That sounds like fun, let's do it!" Toph agrees punching her fist into her hand.

Sinon cheering up at the sound of a resolution to the crazy situation she was in replied "That sounds like the Bullet of bullets tournament. Get strong, then beat the masters. It sounds like it would be fun!'

Hermione replies, "Well I'm not crazy about this idea of fighting with pets. I mean it's not like an Owl can do much other than carry letters, and a toad or a snake are pretty much useless..."

At this point Professor Oak lays out the pokeballs again for the group to choose from. Thinking perhaps it might be easier for this group (who for some reason has no clue what pokemon are) he releases each one so that the group can better decide which to choose. "See these are the starting pokemon, Squirtle, the water type, Charmander, fire type, Bulbasaur who is Grass and Poison type. The other three are: Pidgey which is normal and flying type; Eevee, which is normal, but one of the most interesting, and Pikachu which is electric type. You may choose one each."  
The group considers the vastly different, yet equally adorable little creatures that have appeared in their midst in flashes of red light from their pokeballs. They listen as the Professor introduces each one in turn, Toph in particular paying close attention to which one he seems to be gesturing at, when.

The group discuss amongst one another who wants what and why for a while. There is a minor argument over who gets which starter, Syaoran and Edward in particular, seem to both be fighting over Charmander. But in the end the choices are as follows: Syaoran wins the argument over Charmander, Toph takes Bulbasaur because it's well grounded, Edward decides Pikachu probably isn't as weak as it looks, Applejack cuddles her new Eevee, whom she immediately nicknames Winona after her own pet back home (because she reminds her of her dog), Sinon thinks that Squirtle is the best tactical decision because of its thick shell, and Hermione familiarizes herself the best with Pidgey and supposes she could teach the bird to send messages. Professor Oak suggests they battle with one another outside to get the hang of it.

Edward immediately wants to take on Syaoran, due to the earlier disagreement. Sinon decides to go one on one with Toph, leaving Hermione and Applejack who seemed the least eager to fight. The professor follows them to referee the quick matches to help them learn the attack names for each Pokemon.

In the first match Professor Oak shows where trainers normally stand when battling and Edward and Syaoran seem to go at it until Professor Oak recommends both Pokemon get some rest. In the second match Sinon and Toph seem right at home with the battling concept, after paying attention to Professor Oak's previous commentaries on the first match. They seem well matched, both with their tactical abilities and their pokemon's toughness. Eventually the Professor also recommends they take a break, although he does comment about how impressed he is with how easily they seem to have mastered it. Applejack and Hermione, having watched the battling process now twice, agree that they've seen enough and convince the Professor they don't need to battle themselves.

After this the Professor states that the group can discuss their questions and thoughts over lunch and they go to eat. Over lunch, they cover all of the basics, including how many different types there are, how their pokemon will learn new moves, level up, evolve, etc. Applejack seems surprised when Professor Oak says that her Eevee has 8 different evolved forms. She silently decides she'll probably try to keep it from evolving. Sinon is particularly impressed when the Professor talks about Squirtle's final form as a giant turtle with guns on it's back. Syaoran gives little Charmander a double take when the Professor tells him it can become a fire breathing dragon. Edward realizes the irony of the fact he basically got stuck with the runt of the group. Toph seems pleased with the idea of owning a pet that will be half dinosaur, half plant.

Lunch is over long before the discussion ends, and as day turns into night, the group realizes that they have nowhere to sleep. Applejack suggests camping out briefly before Delia comments that they'll be doing quite enough of that once they hit the road, and offers to let them stay in her home.


	3. Chapter 2

\- Chapter 2: Beginnings: Villains -

\- Celadon City -

A lone man cackled in his traditional black cloak as his snake like eyes through Celadon City. His pale skin showed his creepy facial features to those who dared look his way. He desired power in any world. If the world around him would grant him infinite life then he would rule in darkness and stop all who might get in his way. Before anyone could look his way he vanished.

\- Viridian City -

Mewtwo stood alone in the darkest recesses of Cerulean Cave. It was asleep and awaiting the strongest of travelers to face it. Upon noticing an unusual creature's presence, it awoke. Mewtwo's catlike body glided toward the presence. A strange beast approached.

Discord spoke, "You seem a bit bored, out here on your own, so I've come to make life a little more interesting for you, what do you say?" The two glided in circles, Mewtwo assessing its intruder, Discord beaming wildly from ear to ear.

It asked telepathically, How did you find me?

Discord shrugged and continued to smile, "Is that important?"

Mewtwo thought about this and frowned. I suppose not… what do you mean by 'make life more interesting'?

Discord teleported directly behind the catlike creature and whispered in its ear, "Oh, I thought you'd never ask!" With a tap of his paw, a transformation overtook Mewtwo.

Surprised and alarmed, it attempted to resist the strange power but the transformation succeeded. Afterwards, Mewtwo observed it was in broad daylight. She was now in female form and glanced at Viridian City like a cat would. She stands at about 6'2. She has straight purple hair that is worn short like a tom boy. She has peach colored skin and has red eyes. She wears a simple and short light purple blouse and pants which gradually gets darker in color as they hit her waistline. Mewtwo thinks about her mysterious transformation as a chance to experience the world as a powerful human. She fiercely wanted to become a powerful adversary and challenge everyone that would get in her way. Her hands glowed purple as she exited the City.

\- Saffron City -

Hades reappeared in his signature puff of smoke and flames. Now that he had set the stage for there to be quite the party going on in this world, there was no way he was going to miss out on the fun. He rubbed his hands together in delight as he tried to decide what he ought to do first… should he seek out the most powerful creatures in the land and make them do his bidding to cause death and destruction? Should he approach the good guys and trick them into doing his bidding… for the same purposes? (that was always lots of fun)

He looked around and realized he couldn't spot anyone in particular standing around in a group. Hmm, oh well, he could still have some fun with the locals. He decides to take a moment and observe his surroundings. A handful of shady characters in black seemed to be standing around trying to look inconspicuous as they lurked in doorways and alleys. There was one giant building in the center of town labeled "Silph Co.", and an assortment of smaller residential buildings and medium sized buildings whose purpose Hades was uncertain of. He would have to investigate just what was going on here, he decided.

Hades slid over to the nearest guy wearing the black uniform emblazoned with a red R that the shady bunch seemed to be wearing and tucked his thumbs into the dark grey shirt beneath his black toga and pulled it out as though to emphasize himself. "Hey there, name's Hades, Lord of the Dead. How're ya doin? Say, you wouldn't happen to know who's in charge around here, would you?"

The Rocket Grunt laughs quite hysterically at Hades. "As if you would be able to do something about it if you knew. He's way up in the ranks. Untouchable. And He's not 'Around here either'. I guess the guy in charge here would have to be... Nah you're not worth it." He pushes Hades off and says "get lost, punk of the dead".

Hades' blue head-flames blaze red for a moment at the insulting tone the Rocket gives him. Then it cools back down again and he smiles. "Alright then, I guess I'll ask someone else… oh, but before I go…" He snaps his fingers and after a short blaze where the Rocket was once standing, there is nothing left but ashes. "Thanks so much for your help." He remarks snidely, and decides to head for the giant building in the center of town.

Hades strolls into Silph Co and observes that the first floor is almost completely empty save for a single NPC standing at the base of some stairs. Hades looks thoughtful as he considers this and then shrugs, figuring this place wasn't as important as it looked from the outside and leaves to go check out the rest of the city.

As he explores the town, he eventually comes across a pair of similar buildings labeled as "gyms". One of them claims to be a dojo, run by a master of fighting techniques, the other calls itself the Saffron City Gym, whose leader is apparently named Sabrina and is a master of Psychic abilities. He decides he should talk to Sabrina, see if her "psychic" abilities were anything like The Fates' abilities back home.

Before entering the gym a Kadabra makes a gesture to Hades to follow it outside the gym. It moves with purpose as though it was sent by someone. It starts to move south.

Hades raises an eyebrow at the strange creature motioning for him to follow it, but decides that he's had stranger things happen to him and follows, curious to see where it was going.

Kadabra passes Silph Co and building after building until they finally reach the south most building in the city. Kadabra motions Hades to enter a house. It opens the door with it's mind and goes inside. A voice ominously says, "Enter, God of Spirits".

Hades is all grins now, "Oh, this is gonna be good…" He says cheerfully to the Kadabra, not really caring if it responds to him or not as he heads indoors.

Sabrina has Kadabra shut the door behind him. "I am Sabrina, the Psychic. I have much to say so please do not interrupt. You, who desperately seek doom and thrive on death, I implore you to free the spirits of the East. Ghosts and the like frequent two major areas of this region, the closest being the Lavender Tower to the East. It hosts the graves of Pokemon who have passed on and powerful Gengar reside there, devastating the dreams of those that enter. Seek the Tower and find your strength! This is a path you must take alone." Sabrina highlights a town map and forges a bright red line of fire from Saffron to Lavender Tower. She moves the map off the wall and it finds its way into Hades palm bursting in flames from excitement. The map doesn't tear or burn. "Memorize it quickly because no one may know I have helped the spirits escape." Hades has enough time to ascertain which direction he needs to go before the map vanishes and reappears on the wall looking like new. "Now you may speak".

Hades just stares at Sabrina as she speaks… nonsense at him. She doesn't tell him anything he wants to know, and worse, seems to be trying to send him on a noble quest. Clearly she doesn't have any idea why he was seeking her (though apparently she did know that much…) and has some clear delusions about what he wants. "Hey, listen, that all sounds great and heroic and blech, but I actually came to you to find out if you knew who was on top around here. The big kahuna, as it were. That way I can take over as the guy in charge, see? I just want a nice cushy job that does all my work for me, ok? I'm tired of being the guy doing all the work. So what do you say, can you help a guy out?"

Sabrina cackled as he stated that she was sending him on a noble quest. "Feel free to ignore me, but without the aid of Gengar you will be unable to seek what you desire, or rather you will fail in weakness. There are spies everywhere for the rockets, replacing a man by the name of Giovanni would set a cycle of events in motion that will get you what you want. There are two others you must see do not get in your way, A psychic more powerful than I resides in this region If you cross paths you will certainly fail. There also seems to be a man who has split his soul in tethers. His presence is in antithesis to death itself. There is one other place you could go, if you find the previous "big Kahuna" unsatisfactory. Replace the champion of the Indigo Plateau. Every good trainer wishes to fight the champion. Being there may change the landscape of this world.

Hades listens this time, as he hears Sabrina's advice, and considers the options. From what she said, it sounded like beating up this guy named Giovanni was the way to go. No one wanted a job where you had to fight all the time. "So you're saying I need this Gengar, in order to beat a guy named Giovanni? And as long as I don't run into the more powerful Psychic person… or the guy who has… 'split his soul' I'll be on top? That's great. Thanks sweetheart, you're a real peach." Hades offers a sloppy salute then heads off in the direction the map had been pointing him towards.


End file.
